


My fingers in your hair

by jfmesq



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Braids, Cute, Fanboy Katsuki Yuuri, Funny, Hair Braiding, Skater Victor Nikiforov, Victor using Yurio's white costume, but not a hairstylist AU, everything you like in a fluffy story, hairstyling, just a Different First Meeting AU, now go read it, teen Victor, teen Yuuri, that actually was his before being Yurio's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-07 02:26:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18863854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jfmesq/pseuds/jfmesq
Summary: In the middle of a figure skating competition, teenager Yuuri is called from the bleachers to help one of the athletes with their hairstyle. He just doesn't know what to do with himself when he discovers whose hair he is going to braid.





	My fingers in your hair

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BookewyrmeWritesFic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookewyrmeWritesFic/gifts).



> Hey people! I wrote this fic a long time ago when I had the urge to read something cute and focused on Victor's hair (because I love those silver strands af!), so I wrote it myself! XD
> 
> Since today is the birthday of someone very special to me, I dedicate this story to her: The Fic Rec Fairy, my partner in crime and one of my favorite people in the whole wide world! You deserve an infinite book full of amazing stories, dear!
> 
> Special thanks to my other partner in crime, my lovely beta reader N3rd, who makes all my stories much better! You are priceless, lady!
> 
> Now, go ahead and enjoy! ;D

“Excuse me! Please, I need someone with experience on hair braiding! Please? Anyone?!” They heard someone shouting.

  
Yuuri and Mari were sitting on the bleachers near the corridor, and soon spotted the woman calling for help. “Please! It’s an emergency! Anyone who knows how to braid hair?!”She really seemed desperate and about to cry when Yuuri heard Mari shout back by his side: “My little brother can do it!”

  
She could be screaming FIRE the way Yuuri turned his head at her. She pointed at him and even said he was an expert! Was this a prank?! It could only be! But the woman seemed instantly relieved when Mari  continued to yell about Yuuri’s skills , so it could not be a prank. Now, he obviously couldn’t say no to her.

  
“Do you really know how to braid hair?” she asked, smiling expectantly at him.

 

Yuuri felt his face  grow warm. “Well… I guess… depending on the hair…?” He wanted to help, but it wasn’t like he was a professional hairstylist or anything. He was only fifteen, for Christ’s sake!

  
The woman gestured  at  him to  come down from his seat. He threw an insecure look at Mari before standing up, but she just nodded at him  and shushed him away .

  
Yuuri excused himself to pass the couple seated beside them and went down the stairs, feeling dozens of eyes following him. By the time he made it to the  bottom , his body was trembling with nervousness, and he thanked Kami-sama he  hadn’t rolled down the stairs .

 

When he got closer to  the demanding woman , she put a hand on his shoulder.  Somehow it  made him feel even more nervous, like he couldn’t run away or give up anymore. The woman seemed nice though. “What’s your name boy?” she asked in perfect English, which was really unusual in an international event like  the one currently bustling around them .

  
“Yuuri,” he said with a weak voice,  wringing his hands nervously . 

 

“Yuuri…” the woman repeated now in a more serious voice, “I need your help. I’m really sorry that you’re going to  miss the first performances of the last group, but I promise it will be for a worthy cause.” She blinked at him after saying that  like she was waiting for him to speak . 

 

This woman seemed to be putting a lot of hope on him just because he could braid hair, and Yuuri was a little bit more worried now. What could be so important? “O-ok... what am I supposed to do?” He didn’t mean to stutter, but he couldn’t help it.

  
“Please, come with me.” She turned around and started to walk. Yuuri had no choice but to follow her, and he noticed she was heading for a part of the stadium that wasn’t permitted to the public, only athletes and  their teams . Yuuri’s heart started to beat faster.

  
The woman stopped in front of a door, opened it and waited for Yuuri to cross the threshold . When he entered the room, the red clothes she was wearing started to make sense: he was standing inside the Russian delegation’s room!

  
“My name is Anna and I’m the psychologist for the Russian delegation,” she said as she started to walk again. “We had a problem with one of our athletes. Our hairstylist got sick, and apparently no one else here knows how to braid hair.”

  
Of course! Yuuri should have guessed! Judging by the desperate way she came looking for someone on the bleachers, one of the girls must have had a problem with her  hairstyle , and it was indeed something to worry about. The way a competitor’s hair was styled was part of the costume, and it was usually combined with the clothes and the music to  elicit a certain emotional response of the public and the judges. In figure skating, the hair could help a lot, or completely destroy a performance.

  
Pausing, Yuuri tilted his head in confusion. It wasn’t time for the ladies to skate. The ladies had skated that morning, and now only the men were left to present their free skates. These thoughts crossed Yuuri’s mind, as he was guided past a lot of famous Russian athletes, juniors and seniors, top skaters and rising stars. He was now walking through people he was only supposed to admire from afar as a figure skating fan, and being there was like a dream.

  
Lost in his own thoughts, Yuuri almost missed Anna changing directions. Hurrying to reach her again, Yuuri started to hear a muffled noise, like someone crying. “Что мне теперь делать, Яков? Я собираюсь потерять очки в своем представлении с такими волосами, как это. (What do I do now, Yakov? I’m going to lose points on my performance score with a hair like this.)” Yuuri heard someone say it in a sobbing way. This voice… a voice that sounded like… no! It couldn’t be!

  
People in front of them started to step away as Anna got closer, Yuuri stumbling behind her. Then she kneeled in front of someone, and Yuuri could see: seated in a chair beside his ever grumpy coach, crying in both hands with his silver hair looking like dynamite bomb exploded inside it, was Victor Nikiforov, the bright future of Russian figure skating, and Yuuri’s greatest idol.

  
Yuuri’s heart stopped, air refused to get into his lungs and none of his muscles obeyed. His brain was shutting down,  leaving his thoughts uselessly jumbled in his mind . How was this happening? He couldn’t decide if Kami-sama loved him very much or hated him with all his rage.

  
While Yuuri was having his silent heart attack, Anna said something in Russian to Victor. Her face was very close to his, and her voice was low and soothing, but Yuuri couldn’t hear what she was saying. When she stopped talking, Victor slowly moved his hands out of his face. Then he looked at Yuuri.

  
Yuuri couldn’t explain what he felt when Victor laid his eyes upon him. His face was very red, soaking wet, and those gorgeous blue eyes Yuuri loved so much looked swollen and inconsolable. “вы действительно можете мне помочь? (Can you really help me?)” His voice came out like  raw, rough and thin, barely audible through his tapering sobs .

  
Yuuri apparently didn’t have the strength to force the words out, and the only thing he could do was look at Victor like he was in a trance, completely hypnotized. “Yuuri?” Anna startled him. “Do you understand Russian?”

  
“So-sorry! I don’t!” he screamed. Everyone was looking at him now, and he felt his cheeks  burn . 

 

“It’s ok,” Victor said with in a calmer voice as he stood up. “I can speak English.” He was trying to dry his face on the sleeves of his team jacket. 

 

“Here!” Yuuri smiled nervously, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket and shoving it at  Victor . 

 

Looking at the white fabric extended in front of him, a gentle smile spread on Victor’s face. Yuuri could die right there and then and go to heaven.

  
“Thank you,” Victor took the handkerchief and dried his tears. His face was so red, and the skin looked so soft and delicate… it was almost a crime that it was stained like that. But if it  was up to Yuuri , Victor wouldn’t look like this for much longer.

  
“Anna says your name is Yuuri, and that you can help me…” Victor clutched the fabric tighter between his fingers, his hands trembling a bit. 

 

“I… I promise I will try my best!” Yuuri bowed. His words sounded much more  confident now, even if he  couldn’t stop trembling.

  
Anna smiled at Yuuri, then gestured to one side of the room where there were chairs under a balcony and mirror along the wall. “Please… I hate to put pressure on you, but we don’t have much time.” Victor walked to one of the chairs, where there were a lot of combs, hairbrushes, pins and spray cans beside a medium sized duffle bag on the balcony. Yuuri guessed those were Victor’s things to do his hair before competitions.

  
Yet, Yuuri didn’t move though. “What’s wrong?” Anna asked him. 

 

“Sorry, but is there somewhere I can wash my hands?” he asked, lowering his voice so that Victor wouldn’t hear it. 

  
“Sure. This door over there leads to the toilet,” she pointed behind her. He pushed the door open to find a small public bathroom, with sinks side by side under a long mirror and stalls on the opposite wall.

  
He positioned himself in front of one of the sinks and started to push the bottle of liquid soap… one, two, three, four, five times, then rubbed  his hands together  trying not to panic as he looked  at himself in the mirror. He  scrubbed harder , slathering as much soap as possible over his skin. _ There is no way I’m gonna touch Victor Nikiforov’s hair with sweaty hands like these!  _ he thought, reaching again for the soup dispenser.

 

He pushed the bottle for a little more soap and turned the knob of the sink on, just to be hit with what felt like boiling water. Only then he looked down and noticed there were two knobs to mix cold and hot water.  “Stupid Katsuki!” he muttered to himself.

  
His hands were quickly turning red, and he feared his skin would be too sensitive to braid Victor’s hair. He immediately turned the cold water knob, feeling freezing water  running over  his fingers. It was a huge thermic shock, and he had to bite his lip not to swear out loud and have the whole Russian delegation hear him in the next room. His hands were coming back to normal color though, and a bit beyond, since he was starting to lose sensitivity. When he turned the faucet off and reached for one of the towels folded on the counter, he had an idea.

  
Yuuri came back a few minutes later, finding a much more tranquil Victor waiting for him. Then he extended a damp towel, and Victor inclined his head to the side, like a puppy. “What is it?” he looked up at Yuuri.

 

“Hm… it’s a cold towel.”  Yuuri fiddled with the wet towel, offering it to Victor again.

  
Victor took the cloth from Yuuri’s hands, lightly  brushing against Yuuri’s fingers . “What is it for?” Victor asked curious, looking back at Yuuri.

  
“You should put it on your face so your skin can come back to normal.” 

  
Victor widened his eyes. “Does it really work?” he asked looking at the towel amazed.

  
“Well… it works for me…” Yuuri answered while scratching his nape. “Your skin looks really sensitive, like mine... so it  might  work for you too,” he said looking at the ground.

  
Victor took the fabric in both his hands, his eyes starting to shine.  His face broke into his trademark heart-shaped smile, a sight that Yuuri adored. “Thank you… Yuuri!” The way he said Yuuri’s name, adorably rolling his tongue around it, almost turned Yuuri into a puddle on the ground. 

  
“It’s nothing,” Yuuri waived his hands feeling his cheeks burn again. Soon, he would be the one in need of a cold towel! Victor was still smiling at the cloth when Yuuri said, “Ok! Let’s see what I can do for you.” Victor nodded and turned his chair to face the mirror.

  
Victor Nikiforov’s iconic silver hair. Yuuri still couln’t believe he would be allowed to touch it, and even more than that, style it! He tried to pass his fingers through the threads, and they were very smooth, but full of knots. 

  
“I tried to style it myself, but it was awful,” Victor said muffled by the towel, lowering it to show only his huge blue eyes. “That’s why it looks like  an angry  bird’s nest!” He seemed completely embarrassed, totally different from the confident skater Yuuri  thought he knew .

  
“Then it’s the most beautiful bird’s nest I’ve ever seen.” The words came out completely on their own, and when Yuuri noticed, he looked up at the mirror just to see a smiling Victor  peeking out from underneath the towel again.  _ Why do I sound like a moron every time I open my mouth?  _ Yuuri groaned internally.

  
Yuuri took a hairbrush from the counter and started to  untangle the knots in Victor’s long strands. The more he brushed, the smoother it got. It felt like satin and looked like velvet colored by moonlight. He could keep brushing Victor’s hair for all of eternity and he would never get tired of it.

  
Ethereally beautiful people were rare, and even more in the sports world. So when Victor showed up with his amazing talent and breathtaking beauty, he quickly became the world’s new darling, being invited to be the face of  many different brands, even some that had nothing to do with sports. Victor was something else, attracting attention to himself without any effort, and his career escalated faster than the most famous athletes could even dream of. And he was still only a teenager.

  
He seemed to deal with fame pretty well though, always smiling, being nice with his fans and polite with reporters.  _ How can he do it… _ Yuuri always wondered. If it were him, he would never be able to control his nerves long enough to skate in front of all of those people and compete with top athletes from all over the world. Yuuri loved to skate, and he surely spent more time at the Ice Castle than studying, but he could never do it competitively.

  
Realizing how long he had been brushing Victor’s hair, Yuuri hurriedly sat the brush on the counter. “Ok, it’s ready to style now.” Yuuri said, and Victor lifted his face from the damp fabric. His skin looked a bit better now. 

  
“Do you know how to do it?” Victor asked. 

 

Yuuri struggled with his answer for a moment, but finally said, “I’m afraid I don’t know how to make the braid you always use in this routine. It’s made with five strands, and it’s more complicated than the ones I often do…” He could clearly see the disappointment in Victor’s expression. “But…” he went on, and Victor turned him his attention again, “...can I make a suggestion?”

  
Victor’s face lit up. “Of course!” he answered nodding  with enthusiasm . 

 

“I can make it in a different way so you can really use your hair in the presentation.”  Yuuri said, surprised by his own confidence. 

 

Victor turned the chair to look directly at Yuuri. “How so?” Victor asked curious.

  
“Well… clearly, the story of your routine is about an angel that falls in love with a human. But he struggles to leave Heaven and becomes very confused, parted between love and duty. This moment is represented in the second part of the routine, more or less in the middle, right?” Victor just looked wide-eyed at Yuuri and nodded vigorously. 

  
“Then, in the third part, the angel decides to free himself from what binds him to Heaven, because now he knows he will never be able to continue to live without love.” Victor nods even more vigorously this time. 

 

“Ok. So, to end the step sequence that represents the angel’s confusion, you make a sit spin and then stand up to stop abruptly. I can make a thick braid that will come to the front of your body when you stop. This way, you’ll have access to the tip of it, and can discreetly take out the elastic band I’ll put there. Then you continue skating normally, and when you jump your triple flip soon after, the strands will be loose enough so the braid can undo itself, freeing your hair with the speed of the rotations. Your jumps are high, so there will be enough timing for your hair to be totally free when you land. In the end, while the jump represents the angel’s leap of faith, it can also represent the liberating act when your hair flies as well, and…”

  
Yuuri stopped talking at the same second he realized what he was doing: intruding in his idol’s routine and suggesting big changes in the concept of his story’s presentation just because he didn’t know how to do a five strand braid! How could he do that? He was nobody! Just a fan grabbed from the bleachers that happened to…

  
“I love it!” Victor said, eyes shining, mouth opening into a huge smile. 

  
“You what?” Yuuri couldn’t believe Victor accepted everything he said just like that! 

 

“It’s a wonderful idea! I don’t know how I didn’t think of it sooner! The visual and similarities of soul and hair freeing themselves… It’s fantastic! I love this kind of thing!”  Yuuri had no words, his mouth gaping open as Victor continued to excitedly talk. 

  
“Are you sure it’s going to work? Will my hair be nice when it gets free? Won’t it be tangled or anything like that?” Victor turned to the mirror again, excitedly grabbing some strands and positioning them on his head to imagine the effect. 

  
“Yes… it will work. I’ve made something like this before…” Yuuri said as he decided to start to work anyway, since time was running out. 

  
“You tested it? How?” Victor got the damp towel again and called Anna, delivering it to her and saying something in Russian. 

 

“I made a hairstyle like this on a friend once.” Yuuri said, smiling and fondly remembering said time.

  
“Does your friend have to do with how you learned to braid hair?” Victor asked. 

  
“Yes. Her name is Yuuko, and she was the one who asked me to make a braid for the first time.” Yuuri said, smiling. 

 

“And how did it go?” Victor seemed  to want  to keep Yuuri talking. 

  
“Well… a disaster!” Both of them started to laugh at the same time. “I made dozens of knots in her hair, and she took hours to undo them at home. Then, she said it was her mission on Earth to teach me how to braid hair.” Yuuri rolled his eyes while saying the last sentence. 

  
“She liked when I styled her hair. She said her mom made styles so tight that she would end up being prematurely bald I continued.” Victor laughed even more. It was a wonderful sound, and Yuuri was delighted he was being able to make Victor laugh like that after seeing him so sad just moments ago. “She taught me the basics, three strand braids. Then we started to watch videos on YouTube, learn new techniques and try them on her hair. We spent lots of afternoons like this…”

  
Anna came back with another cold towel, and when Victor sank his face into it again, Yuuri couldn’t help but fall into his memories . 

 

He loved to style Yuuko’s hair. He would never admit it, but she was his first crush. Brushing her soft brown hair was like heaven for Yuuri. Seeing her smile when the hairstyle ended up great  made his heart happy. They talked a lot while he was braiding her hair: about figure skating, about Victor, about poodles, about school… then one day they talked about Nishigori, and the way he confessed  to her the day before, and that she was going to accept his feelings at school the next day. Braiding her hair was never the same after that day.

  
“How is it going?” Victor asked from behind the cloth, pulling Yuuri away from his  thoughts . 

 

“I’m making a big three strand braid in the center, and it will be fluffy so your hair looks thicker than it really is.” Looking at his work instead of Victor’s smile, Yuuri continued to weave hair between his fingers.

 

Victor squealed from his seat. “I can’t wait to see it!”

  
After finishing the braid, Yuuri started to pull some threads to thicken it, leaving the braid loose but secure at the same time. “There… No, wait!” Yuuri held the chair to turn Victor’s back to the mirror before he could look from behind the towel. “You can’t see it yet. I’m not finished.” He said while Victor tried to turn around! 

 

“Yuuuuuriii!!! Let me see it please!”

  
“No, it will be a surprise!” At the word ‘surprise’, Yuuri got Victor’s total obedience. He continued by brushing two strands on each side of Victor’s head that didn’t go with the central braid. “Now, please hold the towel just on your nose so I can style here on the front.” 

 

Victor put the cloth a bit down, and now his face was really close to Yuuri’s. He could count every pale lash, every thread of his well-designed eyebrows, and Victor’s huge, gorgeous eyes were fixated on him. They were like big sapphires being held against the light, shining in blue tones and paralyzing every cell of Yuuri’s brain. He needed all his self-control to continue his work.

 

“I’ll make two fishtail braids on each side of your head now, to keep your hair from your face when you rotate and to secure the top part in place.” He explained, deciding to continue talking to avoid making this moment too awkward.

  
“Fishtail braid?” Victor asked with muffled words. “I never heard of it.” He really wanted to look at the mirror again, but Yuuri held the chair in place. 

  
“Yes, it has this name because it looks like the scales on a fish. People call it mermaid’s braid too.” 

  
Victor widened his eyes. “Really? It must be beautiful!” 

 

Yuuri smiled at him. “It is. Girls use it often in my hometown, since it has a beach.”

  
“Your city has a beach? In Japan?” 

 

Yuuri was caught by surprise with the question. “Yes it does. We also have a ninja castle, and my family runs an inn with a hot springs too.” Yuuri said proudly. 

  
“Wow! It must be a wonderful city. What is the name?” 

 

Yuuri spoke the name of his town slowly, and giggled Victor tried to speak it quickly like a tongue twister.

  
“May I ask something?” Victor asked looking at the ground this time. “How did you know all of that about my routine…? The story of the angel, the braid I usually use…” 

  
Ok! Now Yuuri’s face would melt from the heat! “Well… hmmm… I-I am a… a fan…” Yuuri could see Victor’s eyes widening at him again, but he couldn’t look at them, continuing to work on the braids. “I-I skate too… me and Yuuko, we skate a lot together.” Victor’s eyes lowered a little, and they almost looked… sad?

 

“Actually… I am a nerd skate fan because of you. I liked to skate before… I’ve done it since I was a child, but I think I can say you were the one who made me passionate about it.” Victor said nothing, but by his eyes, Yuuri could see he was smiling. “I don’t know why, but I can easily read stories behind routines, and yours are always the best.” Yuuri had to go to the back of Victor's head to position the braids together, so he couldn’t see Victor’s reaction when he said that.

  
Yuuri took a few more minutes to connect the lateral fishtail braids to the central fluffy braid and then he was done. “Finished!” he said as he turned Victor’s chair to the mirror.

  
Victor slowly stood up and dropped the towel to the floor to reveal his awed face. He turned his head to see his hair put together, linking in a beautiful pattern on his head. Victor put his hands on his mouth and seemed on the verge of tears again. 

  
“No! No, please! Don’t cry… your skin has almost come back to normal and…”  Yuuri’s hands waved in the air as he became flustered.   
  


Victor turned and jumped on Yuuri, holding him close and tightening his arms. Yuuri froze where he was, then he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Victor, and just savored the moment. 

  
“Thank you so much Yuuri! It’s wonderful!” He heard Victor saying.    
  


Yuuri deeply inhaled Victor’s scent, and then he answered. “It was an honor…”   
  


Anna started to shout something in Russian, and Victor reluctantly released the embrace. “I have to go. It’s almost my turn.” He smiled and then he made a nervous face.

  
Yuuri would never have guessed someone like Victor Nikiforov could be nervous. “Ok. Just remember what I told you about the elastic band when you stand up from the sit spin!” he called while Victor started to walk away, his skates making dull sounds on the ground. He wasn’t certain Victor heard him, but he had no doubt this would be a perfect performance.

  
*****

  
“Where were you? You  missed most of the last group!” Mari exclaimed when Yuuri got back from his seat. 

 

“You have no idea”, he answered.

  
“NOW, REPRESENTING RUSSIA… VICTOR NIKIFOROV…” boomed the overhead announcer.

  
“I’ll explain to you later…” he whispered to Mari, as their attention was diverted to the skater entering the rink. Victor was wearing a white and silver costume, with feathers on his shoulders and sequins embroidered all over his chest.

  
“Oh, did you see his hair?! It looks different this time.” “Yes, it looks beautiful!” 

 

Yuuri heard people commenting around him, and he couldn’t help but to feel really proud.

  
The song started, just an orchestra first, and Victor started to  glide across the ice, moving his arms as wings like he was flying. 

 

The first part of the performance was very delicate and peaceful, but the angel looked really sad and lonely. Then the pace quickened when the voice of a woman started to sing a beautiful aria. The step sequence became faster and more complex until the sit spin, when he suddenly stopped and the angel made his decision. 

 

Victor sped up and started to prepare for the jump, and when he made his quadruple flip, his long silver hair flew beautifully. The public gasped and stood up astonished, clapping their hands and screaming, the sounds of their astonishment filling the entire arena. Even the judges seemed in awe, both for Victor’s technical quality and for the element of surprise.

  
Mari looked right at Yuuri when Victor made his final pose on the ice, opening his arms like he was giving himself away completely. She had a big smile on her face, and Yuuri knew she guessed right. “It was your idea, wasn’t it?” She asked with an eyebrow lifted. 

 

“Maybe… who knows?” Yuuri shrugged, smiling wider when Mari nudged him.

  
When the score come out, Victor took the first place by more than ten points, beating his own personal best score and breaking the record for that competition. After commemorating with his coach at the kiss and cry, he turned to the camera and moved his lips, and Yuuri thought he saw him saying the words “Yuuri I love” but the screen in the middle of the rink changed to show the athlete on second place before he could finish. 

 

Well, maybe it was Yuuri’s imagination… or wishful thinking. 

  
*****

  
At the end of the event, when people were coming down from the bleachers, Anna appeared again running in their direction. “He asked me to give you this,” she said handing him a fluffy piece of red folded fabric, “and to tell you to look inside the pocket.” Then she hurried away, waving and smiling at him, leaving Yuuri standing there without knowing what to say or having any chance to reply.

  
“What is it?” Mari asked,  bouncing on her toes and grabbing Yuuri’s arm. 

 

He unfolded it to see a jacket with Russian embroidery. “Oh my God! Victor gave me his team jacket!” He was pretty sure he was having a heart attack again. 

  
“No way!”  Mari  yelled, shoving her hand inside the pockets of the jacket  until she found  a folded piece of paper. She pulled the jacket from Yuuri’s hands where they were frozen, and handed Yuuri the paper. He slowly opened it, still deciding whether to believe if all of this was really happening or not.

  
_ “Dear Yuuri! I apologize for not  _ _ coming _ _ to you after the competition to thank you in person, because I had interviews and  _ _ the  _ _ press conference. But I wanted you to have this jacket. It was with me for many years and competitions, and now it’s yours. I’m so grateful you’re my fan, and I can’t thank you enough for today. You were the one who made my performance a success, so I feel like this gold medal is yours too. I hope to meet you again someday, but until then, here is my phone number: Your friend, Victor Nikiforov.” _

 

Scribbled at the bottom of Victor’s note was a phone number, one that Yuuri determinedly started to memorize and couldn’t wait to use as soon as his heart and mind caught up to the reality of his day.

  
*****

  
“Did you reach him?” Victor asked nervously.  He continued pacing in the hallway, anxiously waiting to hear if Anna had delivered his surprise.

 

“Of course I did, Vitya! You know I am very efficient!” she said, flipping her blond hair at him and smiling.

  
“And how did he react?” he asked,  his eyes begging her for good news . 

 

“Like he needed someone to pinch him, I guess.” she answered.  Her knowing smile did not go unnoticed by Victor. 

  
Pulling Yuuri’s handkerchief from his pocket, Victor smiled at the soft fabric, his heart beating faster when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Snapping a quick selfie of the handkerchief clutched in his hand and pressed against his lips, Victor clicked to respond to Yuuri’s simple, “Hi, it’s Yuuri” text with a picture. 

 

_ Sorry Yuuri,  _ Victor typed,  _ but I’ll have to wash this before I can give it back to you. _   
  


Unable to stop himself from squealing as the bubbles of Yuuri’s impending response popped up, Victor threw his arms around Anna in a happy thank you hug. He wasn’t sure what this feeling was inside of him, but it felt a little like hope. The vibration of the phone in his hand had Victor biting his lower lip to try and contain his smile. 

 

Ready to spend the rest of his day getting to know Yuuri through text, Victor blindly followed Anna back toward their team area feeling happier and freer than he could ever remember feeling. 

 

His beautifully styled hair swung over his back, a unknowing symbol of all the choices waiting for Victor simply because he had needed a braid.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> PS: If the phrase in russian is written wrong, it's Google Translator's fault! :P  
> Please let me know so I can fix it!
> 
> PS2: The song Victor uses to his performance is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3xbvTjMOkk , until 3:33 minutes of the video. It's a brazilian song composed by one of the most amazing musicians in our history, Villa-Lobos. I love this song, and I think there's something so ethereal and angelic about it...
> 
> \-------
> 
> So people, what did you think? I'm thirsty for comments!!!
> 
> Or don't leave a comment, but come scream at/with me on my Tumblr @jfmesq XD


End file.
